


Into the Fire

by orphan_account



Series: Ereri Week 2015 [5]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Con Artists, Day 5, Dragons, Ereri Week, M/M, Mentions of Tragedy, Monster Hunters, Mythology - Freeform, Shapeshifters - Freeform, Socially Inept Characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2015-06-05
Packaged: 2018-04-02 23:05:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4077205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Day 5: Mythology || “Keeping local legends at our side can’t hurt our luck.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into the Fire

The flames illuminated the night, making it look as if sunset had settled over the hamlet. Screams and cries punctuated the air, mixed with the crackling and snapping of tinder as homes collapsed under the starving flames. Under one of those wooden beams laid a young mother, her hand outstretched as the night guard picked up her children, running as fast as he could with their weight as the flapping of wings sounded above her.

“Run, my babies,” she said. “Live!” And as she met the eyes of her son, she mouthed her final words. A scene that would haunt the young boy for the rest of his childhood, as he had not been able to make out what she said. She had spoken to him, but it was lost in the sight of the beast landing, the ground shaking as large talons reached out, knocking the beam aside. Scaly claws scooped up the broken body, and the only sound he can remember is the sound of her scream as fangs ripped through her, devouring her.

“Eren!” A hand grasped his shoulder, roughly shaking the young man awake. His eyes flew open, startled, his chest heaving in a sob. Mikasa knelt over him, her face impassive even as her eyes regarded him warily. “It’s a nightmare. It’s just a dream.”

“I saw mom again,” he croaked, and her face crumpled a little, sliding closer to him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders and drawing him into a hug, cradling his head to her chest.

“I’m sorry.”

“Is it morning yet?” Eren asked, wiping away the tears that had escaped during his sleep and looking around their little camp. Mikasa shook her head, leaning back and kneeling in front of him.

“Dawn is still a couple of hours away. Do you think you can get some more sleep?”

“Not after that dream,” Eren mumbled, pushing himself up and to his feet. “I’ll relieve the last watch. Get some sleep, Mikasa, we have a long journey ahead of us.”

The two hunters that they shared their camp with were happy to go get some rest before daybreak. Eren sat on the branch, glittering green eyes scanning the world around them for anything that didn’t belong. It was how, as dawn was starting to creep along the horizon, teasing the sky with thin tendrils of wispy light, he saw them.

They were a small group, no more than five bodies, but they were armed and heading toward their little camp. The fire was banked, so they weren’t drawn to them that way. Was it a coincidence? Eren didn’t have time to risk it. Drawing his knife, he quietly moved through the woods, making sure to not step on any loose twigs or branches. He got as close as he dared, but the sound of a blade being unsheathed, quickly followed by several others, had Eren bracing himself on a branch, wondering if they had heard him, or if they really knew he was there and were just bluffing.

“Come out. I heard you, thief.”

The voice was low, deep, and powerful. Eren watched, the light in the east steadily getting brighter. The camp would be waking up soon, and he didn’t want to see what would happen if the two parties met.

“Turn around and go back where you came from,” Eren called out, pitching his voice enough to echo in the woods. It  was a trick that had come in useful several times, stopping him from getting an arrow stuck in him while playing sentry.

“Why should we listen to you?”

“I mean no harm, as long as you don’t come closer,” Eren urged, praying that the camp would stay asleep, that his voice wouldn’t carry back that far. “Leave in peace, don’t force my hand.”

“What are you protecting?”

“Innocents. Turn around and _leave_ ,” Eren pressed, and a blade lodged itself beside Eren’s head, a hand still connected.

He hadn’t seen the man move. _Eren hadn’t—_

“Huh, you’re not human, are you?” the man said, his eyes taking in the now-bright gold eyes staring at him wide, glowing in their shock. Eren’s teeth had extended, his fingers forming claws, and Eren took a sharp breath and his features settled back, his eyes bleeding back to a brilliant sea green and his skin a dirty tan to match his hair.

“What do you want?!” Eren hissed, his voice carrying a threat. The man was unaffected, but he made a hand gesture and the sound of weapons being sheathed echoed around them.

“May we share your fire? We’ve not had a hot meal for a couple months.”

Eren regarded him warily, but the dawn broke over the horizon, the sky awash with pinks and blues as the sun made its presence known and chased off the night.

“Fine. But don’t expect a welcoming party.”

Eren dropped from the tree, landing in a crouch and his knife still extended, pressed flat now against the earth as he took in the companions traveling with the man who confronted him in the tree. They were a rag-tag group, though if the man’s words of a couple months without a hot meal were true, their appearance matched it. Each of them wore a pair of white-and-blue overlapping wings, a logo that Eren knew immediately on sight.

“You’re— Oh god, you’re the Scouting Legion,” Eren breathed, his eyes widening. “Fuck, I mean, uh. Hi. I’m Eren.”

The faces looking back at him were a mixed of bemused, wary, and guarded. Eren figured his own probably matched, and he resisted the urge to jump when the thud of a body landing beside him announced the man in the tree joining them on the ground.

“We’re getting hot food, look alive,” the man said, and in the morning light Eren finally got a good look at him. A face he had seen many times as a child, and grew to idolize.

“Oh, fuck me,” Eren groaned, slapping a hand over his eyes and turning, walking back to the camp. “This is a fucking horrible idea. Fuck this, I’m dead!”

“We’re not going to kill you,” the man said, a trace of amusement in his words. Eren spun around, pointing his finger - and thus, the dagger - at him.

“You might not, but my sister? She’s going to slaughter me. You, and your group, are renowned monster hunters. And here I am, a lamb to the slaughter.”

“You’re fine as long as you don’t try to kill us for breakfast,” was all he replied, and Eren groaned. As he led them back to the camp, the sun rose higher along the horizon, and morning was fully upon them.

“How long are you planning on staying, anyway? If it’s only a meal, fine. But any longer and you’re expected to pitch in and do your share,” Eren stated, tilting his head up and sniffing a bit before altering their course. He had run further than he first thought to intercept the group. But he was starting to pick up the sounds of the camp life, and with that, he stopped in his tracks, raising his hand to indicate the thus-silent group to do the same.

“What—” one of the Legion members started, but Eren placed his fingers to his lips and pursed them, blowing a loud, high-pitched whistle. He repeated it three more times, then lowered his fingers, cocking his head to listen for the return signal.

He heard it, a faint whistle through the trees.

“We’re good, come on,” Eren called back to the Legion, pushing aside a bush and holding it open. “After you,” he gestured, waving them by with the hand still holding the knife.

“Why?” was the captain’s question, and Eren rolled his eyes.

“To erase the trail. Like hell I’m leading anything back to my camp,” Eren snapped, and gestured again. “Just walk straight ahead, you can’t miss it. Large clearing with a camp set up in it. Possibly a fire at this point, if everyone’s awake.”

They listened, their heads turning to look back at him often as he worked on cleaning up their obvious trail marks. It wasn’t their fault, most of it was scent, but it was enough to bring a predator back to the camp. Eren had learned that his scent warded off the largest of the forest dwellers, and often used it to his advantage.

Soon they broke through the clearing, heads turning and regarding the newcomers warily. When Eren followed in behind them, the tension eased, but it was still present in both parties.

“I brought guests,” Eren stated needlessly, walking past the group and taking a seat at the fire. The captain decided to follow suit, and soon the rest of the Legion members were finding spots around the fire, logs being dragged over for seats and bags being set down gratefully.

“Eren.” The furious, chilly voice of Mikasa had Eren cringing, turning to look at his sister who was none-too-pleased to see their current company.

“Later,” he offered, and she stared at him, flicking her gaze to the Legion before looking back at him and nodding. She pulled the scarf around her neck higher, covering her nose and cheeks as she came to take the seat beside Eren.

“The two hunters left at daybreak,” she offered, and Eren sighed in relief.

“Did they catch on?” he asked, and she shook her head.

“No, they left us the rest of the kill, too. It will be only us again for a while,” she replied, before eyeing their breakfast guests. “Unless you want to travel with them?”

“We can hear you,” the captain said, and Mikasa stared at him blankly.

“I am glad to hear that. It means I don’t need to shout to be heard.”

Eren grinned, relaxing and leaning against Mikasa, who rested her head on his and wrapped an arm around him.

“So what brings you out to this area, anyway? You said you haven’t had a hot meal for two months, what’s stopped you from having a fire?” Eren asked, and the captain regarded him in silence for several moments. Eren thought he was going to ignore the question entirely but then he opened his mouth, taking a breath before speaking.

“We’ve heard rumours of a dragon in these parts. Seen any?” he asked, and Eren’s eyes widened, shaking his head slowly.

“No, those are hard to miss,” Eren answered, and Levi grimaced.

“Yes, but we’ve seen the evidence of one being here somewhere, so we’re looking for it until we find it. You two would be best to clear out and head to a village until the danger passed.”

“No, we wouldn’t,” Eren said simply, popping a piece of the roasted venison in his mouth and chewing. Not done enough for the humans, but for Eren and Mikasa, breakfast was ready. “You saw me in the forest. Do you think we’d be living out here, wandering vagrants, if we could simply go _hide_ in a village and live there instead? Not all are as quick to still their blade as you, Captain.”

“Levi,” he corrected. “My troop: Petra, Oulo, Erd, Gunter.” He pointed at each one as he spoke, getting a tired wave or hello from them. Eren waved back, and he felt his sister’s sharp fingers digging into his side.

“The meat will be done soon,” Eren said, standing from the log. “Help yourselves.”

He walked to the edge of the clearing, well out of earshot of the Legion, and then turned to face the agitated scowl of his sister.

“What were you thinking?!” she hissed, her eyes glittering dangerously. Her pupils were slit, teeth elongated, and Eren reached out, smoothing a hand down her hair to fix where it was beginning to bristle.

“I was thinking that they were heading straight toward the camp, regardless of whether I intercepted them or not, and I decided to see if they were friend or foe before it was too late.”

“They’re monster hunters, Eren! They’ll kill us!”

“No, they won’t. They already guessed I’m not human—” At Mikasa’s hiss, he held up his hands. “It’s okay! They only guessed that. I’m safe, Mikasa. We’re safe. And… they look so tired. That’s my childhood hero sitting by our fire, eating a meal with us. Can I just enjoy it for as long as it lasts?”

“Promise me you won’t do anything foolish,” she pleaded, and Eren grinned.

“Can’t make promises, but I’ll do my best to not get myself killed. Now go, run out that energy before you end up scratching someone. I’ll keep our guests entertained. They look like they’ve been marching all night as it is. They’ll be falling asleep soon.”

Mikasa growled, but she turned, shifting into a large, sleek feline and bounding into the undergrowth. When he turned back, he saw five sets of eyes regarding them.

“See, we wouldn’t last in a village,” Eren said, retaking his seat and picking back up the stick of roasted meat. Levi was holding his own, and the others were picking at theirs, testing to see how done it was. “We both would stand out too much.”

“Thank you, for allowing us to share your meal,” Levi offered, understanding. Eren grinned, a feral touch to his smile.

“It’s not ours, it’s the hunters who stayed last night. That happens, a traveling group stumbling across our camp.”

“The locals at the village were talking about it. The etiquette for running into the wildlings of the forest,” the female, Petra, suddenly said, her eyes brightening as she looked at her meal, then back at Eren. “You politely ask to share their fire, offer to do your part to set up camp and protect it overnight, and then, upon your departure, leave them with an offering of thanks. This deer was your offering, wasn’t it?”

“Yup!” Eren confirmed, biting into the meat with relish. “I don’t know _how_ it started happening, but it kept happening, and it’s become amusing. I mean, it’s not like we’d kill them if they didn’t, but I’ve been left the oddest things from travelers. Some stay for a night, some have traveled with us from one end of the woods to the other. There’s even a _shrine_ set up for us,” Eren enthused, eyes dancing with mirth. “We only use it during the lean months, when food is hard to come by.”

“Don’t their offerings go bad if you don’t go often?” one of the men asked, and Eren thought it was Erd. Or was it Gunter? Either way, Eren shook his head.

“Someone maintains it. And most of the time, if we’re not nearby, it’s empty. So we go out that way, leaves traces that we’ve been there, and soon the locals will start leaving gifts. Some of the travelers and caravans leave an offering when passing, since it’s supposed to be good luck to ward away evil spirits,” he explained.

“You’ve got a nice set up here,” Levi said, and Eren smiled lightly.

“It’s gotten easier in the recent years, that’s for sure.”

“Were you born in the forest?” Petra asked, and Eren shook his head.

“No, I was born in a regular village. Mikasa and I ran here after… well… it was burned to the ground.”

“Humans?”

“No, dragons.” Eren’s happy facade broke, a cool look forming over his features and his eyes shimmering with a golden heat. “I’ll kill them all. Every last one, so help me.”

“Where was your village? I haven’t heard of a dragon attack in this area for almost forty years. Hearing that one was around here again was surprising,” Petra continued, and Eren shook his head.

“My village was in Maria.”

The group fell silent at those words, the crackling of the fire and the sizzling of deer meat the only sound. No words _needed_ to be said. Maria was a wasteland, inhabited solely by dragons and fiends, only the bravest or foolish daring to go near. There were defenses in place now, though it had taken years for them to be able to hold off the dragons. Eren had been settled into this forest by then, broken, weak, and with only Mikasa to bear the pain with him.

“I’m sorry for your loss. Those were awful times,” she said, finally, and Eren shrugged. He chewed his meat slowly, and when they were finished, they looked ready to fall asleep where they sat.

“Feel free to rest, as we won’t be moving for a few days. As long as you pull your own weight, helping with the upkeep of camp and hunting for food, you can stay until you’re ready to leave.”

“Which direction are you heading?” Levi asked, and Eren raised his head up, looking to the sky as he thought about it.

“It’s time to head north, so that’s where we’re going. We’ll be going to the foot of the mountain, and then coming back this way near the end of the season. I am going to assume you’re heading the same way?” Eren asked, and Levi’s eyes shined with approval.

“We are. Dragons love their mountains,” he said, and Eren grinned, his fangs showing.

“Shall I expect your company for the time being?”

“Keeping local legends at our side can’t hurt our luck,” he agreed, and Eren laughed.

“As I said, do your part, and we’ll do ours. Sleep, I’ll be on watch.”

* * *

 

Two months they’d traveled together, and while at first Mikasa was rightly agitated by the arrangement, she had adjusted. Levi and the others kept their word, helping with digging the latrines, gathering wood, harvesting berries and roots, and hunting for live game. Mikasa mainly did that, her large feline body able to track and hunt game easier than the other’s fragile, human bodies, but they pulled their weight, showing how they had become world-renown dragon hunters.

“Why would dragons be drawn to campfires?” Eren had asked, once he had gotten around to asking why they had traveled two months without a hot meal if they were capable of hunting game.

“Dragons tend to be drawn to open flame. And in a forest, open flames are highly noticeable.”

“That sounds like nonsense,” Eren scoffed. “There’s plenty of villages and camps through this area that have burning fires, and there’s been no dragons.”

“Except that there is, and we’ve seen evidence of it.”

“Well, I’m keeping my campfire, I haven’t seen any dragons coming for my fire and I’ve been out here for eight years.”

So they kept the fire, though the dragon hunters were nervous the first few weeks. But as time passed, and no dragon came dropping out of the skies to terrorize them, they relaxed. They were more energized, rejuvenated, and they offered Mikasa and Eren a reprieve as well. Normally they split the shifts between the two of them, but with seven able bodies, they were able to sleep longer at night, which helped Mikasa’s temper calm down into tolerable levels.

For Eren, it made his energy skyrocket, and his mischievous streak had only grown as a result.

While they traveled north, they had met the occasional group of hunters wishing to share a meal and their camp. They had given the Scouting Legion a wary glance, but seeing as they weren’t attacking the ‘creatures of myth,’ they were content to settle down and share a meal, leaving their offerings in return. Eren enjoyed messing with them, to Mikasa’s ire, and the strangers would be on edge and jumpy all night, leaving as soon as day broke.

“Stop scaring them, or they’ll stop showing up!” Mikasa snapped, as they watched the young poacher run back into the thicket, Eren’s eyes still shimmering gold as he looked at his sister.

“But I’m bored. We haven’t had a good haul in months, and this is my only source of amusement, Mika. Don’t take that from me.”

“If you want to eat this winter, you’d best start curbing your attitude. What will we do if you scare the locals into thinking you’re a god of mischief instead of luck?”

“Oh fuck, Sis, if they did anything, they’d leave more! They’d think they pissed me off or something and try to appease me!”

They didn’t talk for three days, Eren spending them at Levi’s side instead as she stalked ahead of them in her cat form. He had gained a lot of information from Levi about the outer lands, as the two hadn’t left their forest territory since arriving. The war against Maria was still dragging on, the Scouting Legion working hard to reclaim every inch of the lost land, but at the cost of many lives.

Eren was fond of Levi, and he wasn’t afraid to tell him to his face. The man was a good leader, sharing the workload with his soldiers. He was also tolerant of Eren and Mikasa, whose social skills left much to be desired. The two had only each other to converse with for eight years and that had killed any potential social etiquette. While Mikasa wasn’t very talkative to begin with, Eren had a natural curiousity that led to him bombarding the man with question after question, not even bothering to wait to see if he got an answer before moving on. His first kiss with Levi was the man sealing his lips against Eren’s to stave the flow of questions.

“I get that you want to know everything,” Levi said, his mouth still brushing against Eren’s lightly. “But I can’t answer your questions if you don’t give me time to do so. Patience.”

“I’m sorry,” Eren said, pulling away from Levi and rubbing at his hair sheepishly. It was growing longer, almost touching the base of Eren’s neck, and dancing in the cool breeze that was forming. The days were getting longer, the rainy season almost past them and the dry season coming instead, which was why they were heading north to combat the heat that was inevitable. He would need a haircut.

“Are you even paying attention?” Levi snapped, and Eren looked at him, his eyes flashing gold with shock.

“Sorry, I was thinking that I need to cut my hair.”

Levi stared at him blankly before turning and walking off, leaving Eren to chase after him with apologies.

But there was no joking, teasing, or talking when they reached the edge of the woods, where the mountain started to reach for the sky. They had reached it a few weeks sooner than they should have, and the reason was quite clear. Charred stumps littered the ground for as far as Eren could see, ash coating the ground like snow. It was obviously old, the wreckage cold to the touch, and he found his feet moving forward without his consent.

“Eren?” Mikasa asked, but Eren ignored her, possessed by purpose. He stopped where a tree had fallen across the ground, a scorched skeleton of a deer trapped under it. He stared at it without a word, his fingers clenching into fists.

“Eren, it’s okay,” Mikasa said, placing her hand on his shoulder. Eren shook his head, turning away from the sight to look at the rest of the damage. It was obvious to anyone with eyes what had caused this. There was no denying it, and Eren gritted his teeth.

“We still have four days until we reach the foot of the mountain,” Eren called out, his voice dull, and he ignored the concern in Levi’s eyes as he turned and kept walking.

* * *

 

He knew that they were in these mountains, but he didn’t know what had driven one down this far.

The Scouting Legion was doing well at holding off the attacks of the mountain giant, but they were human. He did his best, knife slashing as he scaled the beast with his bare hands, digging and cutting wherever he could as he scrambled to get on top of the beast. But it was slow going, the giant made of tougher material than the little knife was used to dealing with. The Legion weapons were holding out much better, having been designed to pierce a dragon’s flesh, among other things. But Petra had a broken arm, Erd was on the ground, unmoving, Oulo was limping, and he couldn’t see Gunter anywhere. Levi was flying through the air on wires - Eren wasn’t sure what the contraption was, but it made sense how he managed to hold his own against _dragons_ now - and keeping the giant well distracted as Eren went on his suicide mission.

It was going good - well, good was a stretch - until the giant flung out a hand, grabbing the wires and yanking them. Eren watched, eyes wide in horror, as Levi jerked in mid-flight, his own eyes widening in surprise, before the wires were no longer attached to Levi. He saw the look of resignation in Levi’s eyes, and Eren screamed, leaping toward him. Shock flashed over Levi’s face, his mouth opening to yell at him.

“You fucking idiot—” He had started, but his words were cut off as Eren snarled, his teeth extending as his body shimmered with heat. Scales spread along his body, his muscles and skin twisting as he released his hold on the human facade he kept, that he had been born with, and let himself be who he was meant to be, whom he hated with a passion. His tail extended behind him, and his shoulders burned like hellfire as wings broke free of his flesh, rapidly growing and forming. When taloned claws grasped Levi, they were still covered in Eren’s blood, but the Legion captain didn’t hesitate to grasp back, clinging to Eren as he spread his still-sensitive wings and let the wind carry them high into the sky. Eren roared in triumph, sweeping back down and landing on the ground. The earth shook from the force, the humans and Mikasa losing their balance and falling to their knees. The giant looked at him in fear, but Eren released Levi, stepping over him and using his tail to shield him from the giant’s sight.

_Fight me!_ Eren roared, and the giant shook but lifted his club obediently. Eren grinned, his wings quivering as he stretched them out, ridiculously long compared to his sleek, muscled body. He took three steps forward before roaring again and lashing out with a clawed hand.

The giant didn’t last long after that, the diamond-edged talons easily cutting through the hide of the beast and rendering him a mass of muscle and bone. Eren bit down on the body, snapping the spine, and pushing with his forearms, dismembered the beast.

Better safe than sorry.

When his bloodlust calmed, he knelt down on the ground, curling his tail to his chest and folding his wings, regarding the Legion members warily.

“You’re the dragon,” Levi realized, a touch of anger in his words, but the awe in them was overpowering. “That’s why you had nothing to fear. You knew where it was the entire time.”

“He doesn’t spend a lot of time in this body,” Mikasa said, having shifted back to her human form. Her body was tense, ready to step in and kill the monster hunters if need be, but none of them were drawing a weapon. Whether they were incapable, or didn’t see Eren as a threat, Eren didn’t know. But he huffed, steam rising from his nostrils, and then he laid his head down on his paws, watching them cautiously.

“The woods—”

“Were an accident,” Mikasa snapped, moving closer to Eren. “He doesn’t have good control, and we found out the hard way he doesn’t handle breathing fire well.”

Levi looked between the furious cat shifter and Eren before nodding.

“Understood. We’ll set up camp. Can you change back?” he asked Eren, who shook his head carefully, mindful of how close the humans were.

“It’s painful for him,” Mikasa answered for him. “We’re going to be here a while.”

It was a week before Eren was done writhing on the ground, his body shrinking back into the small, compact human form. His muscles burned, his skin sensitive to the touch, scales littering the ground around them. Mikasa dutifully picked each one up and made a pile, leaving them for Eren. When he finally stopped moving, his breath coming in short gasps, he heard the sound of feet approaching him, a body settling down near his, and a hand coming to touch his. Eren hissed, and he heard Levi hum thoughtfully.

“Your skin burned mine,” Levi noted. “Dragon fire. How long does it take before your skin cools enough to touch things?”

“A day, give or take,” Eren rasped. He was lying on his stomach, naked, and his body hurt like he had just walked through the fires of hell, and Levi was wondering about _that_? “You’re fucking weird.”

“So I’ve heard. But I owe you my life, so you’re going to have to put up with it.”

“I couldn’t let you die like that,” Eren said, eyes shimmering a bright sea green. “You’re my childhood hero, after all.”

“Disappointed in what you found out?” Levi asked, and Eren smiled.

“No, I like the human side of you. Much better than the hero.”

“The human slayer who fell in love with a boy who becomes a dragon. What would the gossip make of that?” Levi wondered, and Eren laughed, despite the pain it caused to do so.

“They’ll figure it out themselves. But the boy who becomes a dragon will protect the human slayer he loves, no matter what happens.”


End file.
